Not always a fan of Jimmy Carr, I was drawn to an interview clip on TikTok where he is talking about life and gratitude and appreciating the life we have now.
So much so that I saved it and watch it back occasionally, as I did this morning.
The last week, following my disastrous meeting with occupational health, where I wanted to discuss my mental health, but felt dismissed and not listened to, I’ve fallen back into old coping mechanisms and found myself reducing my calorie intake.
This actually creates more problems than it solves as it’s resulted in my mood being low at times along with my energy, and it’s been difficult to concentrate on the studies I keep wanting to get back to.
But in a way, food restriction is like a comfort blanket for me, and it shrinks down my world to one I can cope with better, although that does not last for long and I need to keep reminding myself of that.
Plus my body is not as young as it once was, and at 50, I need to be treating it well if I want it to last at least a couple of decades more.
Back to the Jimmy Carr clip, and he is talking about the fact that, 25 years from now, we would give all our material possessions to be the age we are now, to have the health we have now, and to feel as good as we do now.
We would give everything to be back here, to this moment in time.
We might think life is difficult and a struggle, and for many of us it can be at times, but his point is to be grateful for what we do have because one day we’ll look back and realise how valuable that was and how lucky we were.
I might not be a huge fan of being in my early fifties, but ageing is a gift that not everyone gets.
And at 75, I’ll look back and wish to be this age again with the hope I have for the future, the opportunities I have now to shape the years to come, and the relative youth I have compared to my later years.
It’s the message I needed to hear, and one many of us might need to hear.
We will never be as young and as healthy as we are now. It’s to be valued and appreciated.
Despite life’s ups and downs, we have so much to be grateful for even on our darkest days.
The video has made me realise I want to live the next 25 years well so I could look back and be grateful for the decisions I made that have led to the life I have at 75.
It’s food for thought.